It is generally known to seal containers with closures defining a piercable part, where through a dispensing means can be inserted into the container thereby allowing dispensing the fluid stored therein. With the increasing demand for home appliance systems for dispensing beverages stored in small sized containers, new requirements arise in terms of handling safety, hygiene, and durability.
Closures have been cited in the art that comprise a piercable part formed by a flexible diaphragm. Such closures however can only be pierced when using a needle or dispensing means having a sharp tip, resulting in a safety hazard that is undesired for home appliances. Other types of closures such as cited in GB 1,074,165 have base comprising a piercable part defined by a conical sidewall and a bottom, the sidewall extending transversally with respect to the base, wherein at the perimeter of the bottom is provided a circular line of reduced material thickness. The line of reduced material thickness allows piercing with a rounded dispensing means, thereby overcoming safety issues for consumers. A drawback of the configuration of the piercable part according to GB 1,074,165 is that during piercing, the bottom of the piercable part is loosened from the closure and falls into the container whereon the closure is provided. From a hygienically point of view, the contamination of a fluid contained in the container by part of the closure is undesirable. Another drawback associated to parts of the closure falling into the container is a safety hazard, as the loosened parts can be drawn out of the container together with a beverage contained therein, such that they can be swallowed by consumers. Yet another drawback is that the loosened parts can obstruct the dispensing of liquid out of the container when they get stacked in the dispensing means.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome the above drawbacks while at the same time providing a closure with a piercable part allowing safe usage, good hygiene and sufficient durability, in particular to seal containers to be used in home appliance systems for dispensing beverages such as beer.